British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on the need for new solutions to the problem of illegal migration yesterday, Starmer’s office said, laying the groundwork for a bilateral summit today.
The two met for lunch during what is the first state visit by a European leader since Britain’s exit from the European Union in 2020, with both sides talking up the need to deliver concrete progress to stop migrants travelling to England from France.
Under Starmer’s plan, Britain would deport one asylum seeker to France in exchange for another with a legitimate case.
But in a speech yesterday, Macron spoke of the need to address ‘migration pull factors’, suggesting any deal would require Starmer to make it harder for migrants who do not have legal status to live and work in Britain.